Dayr Nakhkhas

Dayr Nakhkhas (Arabic: دير النخّاس‎, Deir Nakh-khâs) was a Palestinian Arab village located 20 km northwest of Hebron, overlooking Wadi Bayt Jibrin to the north.

Location

Dayr Nakkhas was situated on the road to Hebron about two miles east of Bayt Jibrin. Perched on a hill, an open corn valley lay below the village. Located in an area rich in archaeological sites, in the land area that belonged to the village, there were some 15 sites, including the village itself (which was built on an earlier ancient site).

History

In a 1596 census for the Ottoman Empire, it is recorded that Dayr Nakhkhas was part of nahiya (subdistrict) of Halil [i.e. al-Khalil, or Hebron], under the liwa' (district) of Jerusalem, with a population of 72. The inhabitants paid taxes on a number of crops, including wheat, barley, olives, as well as on goats and beehives.

In The Survey of Western Palestine the name of the village is transcribed, "Deir Nakhkhâs", and translated as, "the monastery of the cattle drover.